From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Jonathan Groll Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: a key system to replace gnu emacs's 1000 default keybindings Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 23:37:02 +0200 Message-ID: <8762bdmjup.wl%lists@groll.co.za> References: <5ee2582c-026b-4ab3-b5a7-c2d3e66ff511@oe8g2000pbb.googlegroups.com> <4d8a8454-22d9-44a3-9f57-7d5791534d30@t2g2000pbl.googlegroups.com> <4FC00690.9090200@thadlabs.com> <87k3ztzlar.fsf@spindle.srvr.nix> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 (generated by SEMI 1.14.6 - "Maruoka") Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Trace: dough.gmane.org 1338413862 28533 80.91.229.3 (30 May 2012 21:37:42 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@dough.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 21:37:42 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Wed May 30 23:37:37 2012 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1SZqZs-0003jC-M6 for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Wed, 30 May 2012 23:37:12 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:42103 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1SZqZs-0007lm-B1 for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Wed, 30 May 2012 17:37:12 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([208.118.235.92]:54585) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1SZqZo-0007le-0B for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Wed, 30 May 2012 17:37:09 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1SZqZl-0001Qa-OV for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Wed, 30 May 2012 17:37:07 -0400 Original-Received: from mail.groll.co.za ([166.84.7.40]:51696) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1SZqZl-0001PK-L0 for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Wed, 30 May 2012 17:37:05 -0400 Original-Received: from mail.groll.co.za.groll.co.za (unknown [IPv6:::1]) by mail.groll.co.za (Postfix) with ESMTP id E6A3C5FE5B for ; Wed, 30 May 2012 23:37:02 +0200 (SAST) In-Reply-To: <87k3ztzlar.fsf@spindle.srvr.nix> User-Agent: Wanderlust/2.15.9 (Almost Unreal) Emacs/24.0 Mule/6.0 (HANACHIRUSATO) X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: GNU/Linux 2.6 (newer, 1) X-Received-From: 166.84.7.40 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:85055 Archived-At: On Wed, 30 May 2012 17:27:24 +0100, Nix wrote: > On 26 May 2012, Dan Espen uttered the following: > > You'll need to create another write up that explains why > > we can't live without CAPS LOCK. > > I used to think caps-lock was useless too, until I learned a bit of > formal touch typing, when it all came clear. > > The caps-lock key is intended to reduce chording when typing multiple > capitalized letters at once (which used to be common in headings, and is > now common in e.g. macro names in C). Chording two keys with one hand is > very unpleasant and a significant cause of RSI, so formal touch typing > teaches that you should always use the opposite hand to the hit chording > keys, e.g. right shift and left F, but left shift and right L. (This is > why there are two shift, ctrl keys, and so on, on opposite sides of > keyboards). However, when typing runs of capital letters this requires > frequent flipping of the shift-holding hand from side to side, or > violation of this rule. > > Thus, one hits caps lock *once*, types the run of capitalized keys, then > hits it again, thus avoiding both single-hand chording and an annoying > constant flip of the chording hand. Very well put. You can have your cake and eat it (or have both control and caps-lock in convenient places) - if you get an intelligently designed (usually mechanical) keyboard (thinking of the Kinesis with thumb keys). RSI is a serious thing, particular with us Emacs folks, and often typing is our livelihood. Cheers, Jonathan P.S. Actually, another alternative to swapping capslock and control: running a modified XF86 that lets you use the space key as a control key "when it is pressed with another key": http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=65950 -- jjg: Jonathan J. Groll : groll co za has_one { :blog => "http://bloggroll.com" } "A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble." - Gandhi